Friday, November 28, 2014

With Melbourne’s never ending thirst for brunch, opening a cafe called ‘Addict’ seems quite fitting, especially in Collingwood, where the hipster, coffee loving culture is abundant.

Addict is comfortably settled on Johnston Street, just next to Biba Academy. I personally love the location as it’s so easy to park, and the rather generously sized cafe (by today’s standards anyway), faces out with lovely big windows.

Bright, light and spacious; Addict has plenty of lovely light wood furnishings with a relatively neutral palette, easy on the eye.

Brad and I perched ourselves on the window side bench (again), and ordered the usual, latte for him (with Padre coffee) and an almond milk chai for me, with one of my favourite chai’s, Prana Chai, which is just about always lovely warm and spicy. I’m still not totally sold on using almond milk in my hot drinks, as it just doesn’t quite reach the consistency I like from soy or regular milk…but hey, I’m happy to continue trying until I find something that works…

I can’t help but observe when I’m out eating, I’m the type to take note of who’s coming in and eavesdropping in on conversations nearby me (I can’t help it)! As I looked around Addict, over time, I couldn’t help notice that there were several tables of two, who were seated after we ordered, who got their meals before us.

Now, I understand you’re still relatively new, but after waiting around 30 minutes with no sign of our meals coming out, I can’t help but get a little bit cross. Which means I get upset (because I don’t know how to deal with anger), which means I have to look like an idiot when checking in on our meals because I have to hold back from turning into a mini blubbery mess because my blood sugar is low and my tummy is growling like a mofo.

Hangry. It’s a dangerous condition.

Fortunately, once I did ask the very helpful and friendly staff, our meals came out promptly, and they were delicious.

My braised quinoa and chickpeas, cooked in a mushroom stock with broccolini, poached eggs, toasted almonds and a rich moho sauce was a feast for the eyes, a hearty mound of gorgeously vibrant colour. This is exactly my kind of vegetable dish, with a lovely earthy richness from the remnants of the mushroom stock and diversity of textures; small beads of quinoa rolling around in the mouth and dense but tender chickpeas to the slightly crunchy and fresh broccolini and crunchy almonds. The moho sauce gave a nice little kick of chilli as well.

Did the yumminess of the dish counter my earlier frustration with how long our meal was taking?

Totally. Totally. Totally.

Do I want to go back just for this?

Yeah. Over and over again!

Brad’s potato hash and mushroom duxelles, with roasted field mushroom, poached egg and caramelised onion was much, much different to what I expected. Rather than a meaty big breakfast that I thought it would be, it was very elegantly stacked, with a deliciously golden band of potato tempting you in.

It smelt simply amazing when put down and did not disappoint in flavour either, rich and hearty, comforting too.

Oh. And hello there yolk porn. Mmhmm. (Wait for it, it's animated!)

I have to say as well, I was very fortunate that the staff at Addict were kind enough to hold on to my lens…which I later that afternoon realised I had left behind and rushed back to pick up!

So although there were some bumps in our first meeting with Addict, I’m totally keen to return for the array of slightly different flavours and unique and beautiful presentations. Especially after seeing a picture of that coconut and chia superfood stack they’ve got going on…who doesn’t love dessert disgusted as breakfast?

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

There’s something simply adorable about a residential cafe. It’s not there because there’s always going to be people walking by, it’s not there because there are lots of offices around. It’s there because there are streets and streets of houses that surround it, and these houses have people who need good coffee in the morning dammit!

Red Door Corner Store is simply gorgeous. You feel like you could be walking into a general store, wooden floorboards, old wooden crates as shelves and storage for coffee trinkets, dibs on tables via scrabble tiles. So sweet.

And beyond the look, it’s the vibe and life of the cafe as well. Brad and I took a spot by the window, which I almost always try to default to as I can’t resist some good natural lighting, and I spent much of the morning just quietly observing as Brad read the news on his phone. Quietly giggling in my head at the cute little boy in cowboy boots with his mum and her friend as he bumbled around and swooning over the pair of stunning dalmatians with the bearded owner who sauntered in for quick coffee.

It’s not hard to see why Red Door Corner Store must be loved by the locals, as our hot drinks and food arrive at the table. A lovely and rich looking latte for Brad, and the usual spicy little soy chai for me.

The food menu reads a treat, with favourites twisted up with unexpected or more contemporary additions. My corn, zucchini and quinoa fritters with avocado, romesco, grilled corn salsa and a poached egg are delightfully hearty. The fritters are golden fried and crunchy, but much more dense than usual corn fritters with the help of the zucchini and quinoa. Much more wholesome! I also love the smokiness and the spice in the salsa. And really, who doesn’t love a bit of smashed avocado in the morning?

I’ve forgotten what Brad and ordered, but believe me it was delicious! Plus it came with polenta chips…for breakfast!

Red Door Corner Store had been on my wishlist for ages, and although my visit is a much more delayed than I had originally planned for, it’s definitely somewhere I would be comfortable to visit regularly. Provided the food and cheerful vibe stay as is!

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Maybe not right up on me or getting too close with their stingers, but my love for photography really blossomed with bees, chasing them around and just trying to get a little snapshot of their busy little lives. One of my first ever favourite photos, that got me into photography was in fact of a bee.

This one actually, back in 2004…gosh I think I’ve come a bit of a long way!

But if I thought bees were pretty cool already, they were absolutely elevated to new heights when I got to explore one of Bee One Third’s rooftop hives, as my Sunday activity at Eat Drink Blog 2014, with the founder Jack.

We met up first at Gerard’s bar, where we watched delicious honey treats be made up for us to sample some of the glorious honey that was the result of the rooftop hives. Sopressata topped with honeycomb on a buttermilk cracker, which were deliciously and richly charred, were a beautiful balance of savoury and sweet, and the honey mousse, with honey jelly, honeycomb and honey financiers might sound like honey overdose…but believe me, they were far from it, more like just right!

As we greedily nibbled away on everything we could get our hands on, Jack was the epitome of laid back, talking ever so fondly about his bees with a quiet and determined passion. Bees are in danger of getting wiped out, with less flowers for them to pollinate and feed from, as we continue to destroy much of their home. Yet they provide such an important service to our eco system, in the maintenance and balance of it.

And they are such interesting creatures! Jack tells us how the Queen’s personality dictates the personality of the hive, the way the workers and drones work, how when it comes time to mate that the Queen’s fly over 6 feet high into the sky, to ensure only the strongest of the drones can mate with her; a case of survival of the fittest here. And did you know that the Queen only does these flights 2 or 3 times in her lifetime? Each time she fills up on enough eggs to produce babies for months on end!

We also get to sample ‘bee food’ as well, and I’m absolutely smitten with the gorgeous array of colours, a stunning gradient of yellows and oranges. It’s a little bit sweet, with a very chewy texture and what some of us describe as a slightly fishy flavour. Bizarre, but quite tasty.

We’re only all too eager to don our very sexy bee outfits, and climb the stairs to the rooftop, to the little village that Jack’s bees call home.

Jack burns a bit of sage (I think), which lets the bee’s know we have arrived, and I think encourages them to come out, which makes it easier to get to the hives.

Oh.

Aren’t they just adorable?

Hang on while I just spam the blog with pictures of bees because I think they’re so darned cute.

Jack points out to us a couple of bees who are laden with pollen, which makes them look like they’re wearing great big yellow clown pants.

As well as pointing out a couple of bees that are just about to hatch, and helps one or two out, who creep out, shake off their wings and look like they’re just about ready to work straight off the bat.

Despite the density of the bees there, and the fact that we are prying around their home, the bees are very relaxed, I suppose because we are too.

I curse myself for not bringing up my macro lens with me to Brisbane, as I could have easily spent all afternoon sitting on the rooftop, playing with the bees.

I can also certainly attest that the honey these bees produce is just stunning, and I’m fascinated when we descend back down the stairs later to sample the different honeys from different rooftops, just how different they all are. Clear, cloudy, thick, runny, golden, yellow, there’s all sorts!

I become particularly smitten with the James Street honey, which is smooth, a rich golden amber and just lazily oozes out of the jar when you pour it.

My only complaint currently is that Bee One Third doesn’t have really have stockists outside of Brisbane, so will simply have to plan to seriously stock up next time I’m in town…